RECENT claims that Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) members are crossing over to join Barisan Nasional are just cheap tricks by the opposition out to gain votes in the upcoming Kimanis by-election.

Warisan candidate Karim Bujang advised voters in the constituency not to believe the opportunists involved who often play up the issue solely for political gain.

He said it was illogical for Warisan members to join the opposition when the local Sabah party is now administering the state and working together with Pakatan Harapan (PH) at the federal level.

“What is the point of joining the opposition when the by-election is coming up? Whatever the outcome, the party that won the last general election will continue to rule until the next general election,” he told Bernama in an interview in Putatan today.

Yesterday, some Warisan members reportedly announced they were leaving the party and crossing over to Umno and BN.

Elaborating on this, Karim said any claims over the party-hopping issue should be supported by solid evidence, not just with papers filled with names.

“I probably will not believe it if they just come up with a list of names. How are they going to prove that a certain group of people have jumped ship?

“Do it ethically in a dignified manner. Do not just bring up some papers stating that certain individuals have joined the party, without solid evidence,” he said.

The Kimanis by-election will witness a straight fight between Karim, 67 and BN candidate Mohamad Alamin, 48.

The Election Commission has set polling on January 18 and early voting is on January 14. – Bernama, January 8, 2020.